


The Knight Everett

by lankque



Category: Original Work
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-26
Updated: 2020-04-26
Packaged: 2021-03-02 10:27:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23849683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lankque/pseuds/lankque
Summary: Audrey Everett does her best in a world that's not for her.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 2





	The Knight Everett

Standing with straightened backs under the sweltering summer sun, cloaked in thick woolen padding under leather armor, two groups of guards lined themselves vertically across the yellowing field of grass. Audrey squinted her eyes against the bright daylight, trying not to glance around herself too much for fear of standing out, but surveyed the others when she could. Most were men that she recognized from the guard's force that often patrolled the outer skirts of the castle and the town. Many guards in the squadron were just a bunch of drunkards that figured it was a comfortable wage and typically didn't have anyone but themselves to support financially, or young men looking to become knights.

  
Far from Audrey, near the front of the two lines of guards, was the king and his two daughters. The balding, wrinkled king himself was seated in a lower chair, his dark-skinned hands gripping the armrests of his seat. His youngest daughter sat a little higher than him in a three-wheeled chair that Audrey had heard other commoners call an "invalid chair" when nobody of status was around. Ruffles upon ruffles of the princess' dress hiding her legs while she kept her head buried in a leather-bound book. Her elder sister perched herself atop a tall stool, clad in men's clothing with her legs rudely spread apart, and an empty dagger belt slung around her hips. She rested her cheek in her hand with a bored expression on her face, eyes never lingering on any one guard for very long.

One of the king's personal servants stood in front of the two lines, an older gentleman with more Asian traits than European, whom Audrey had only seen once or twice in her time working in the guard's force. To the left of the two groups of twenty were two tall stone walls, one rope dangling from each one, that Audrey figured must have been erected relatively quickly for the trials. To the right were four horses slowly mowing the dying grass field, reigns tied to a stake in the ground that another servant man watched over. Thirdly, beyond the canopy that had been set up over the royal family was a stack of a few effigies. Audrey noticed a tall vase near the royal tent with what must have been sword handles sticking out of the top.

  
Any murmuring hushed down as the older servant man up front began to speak.

"Men," came the man's soft and stuttered announcement, "there will be three trials. Not all of you will pass through all three; the king shall decide which of you will proceed to the next trial after each one. Making it through all three trials will not guarantee your position as a royal knight, as I imagine you all know already."

According to gossip that Audrey's twin sister heard as a chambermaid and passed on to her, the king hadn't appointed any royal anythings for a long, long time. Both girls were newer to the kingdom, but there was the gossip of how the royal family used to be more present and social. Currently, it was rare to even catch a glimpse of one of the family members or those in servitude close to them. This was the first time Audrey had ever seen the royal family in person.

The older man up front gestured towards the two walls. "This f…f-first trial should b-be simple. Make it to the top of the wall …" One of the younger servants who had been setting up the effigies in the background came forward with one in each arm, sweat dripping down his reddened cheeks as he hefted them onto the ground in front of each wall. The other man continued, "…w-with your effigy."

Each line of guards was instructed to stand in front of one wall each. Audrey was part of the tail of her group, thus having the chance to watch each guard in front of her either succeed or fail. The first few in both lines failed miserably, either dropping the effigies mid-climb or losing their grip on the rope and falling to the ground below. Then, a sour-faced man in the opposing line of guards whom Audrey recognized from several bar fights had the bright idea of throwing the effigy to the top of the wall and climbing up after it. His lumpy face grinned down at the rest of the men below as he sat triumphantly atop the stone wall, patting the stomach of the effigy before hefting it off and letting it fall to the ground. He swung his legs over and leaped down after it.

  
When it came to Audrey's turn, her stomach was already slipping around nervously, the sweat that collected in various pockets under her armor surely not helping keep it still. She adjusted her helmet, shading her eyes and long lashes as best she could then hoisted the beaten effigy onto her shoulder. The weight from the thing was staggering, and she felt like this sack was not only stuffed with straw. Steeling herself after balancing the effigy, Audrey gripped the rope with her leather gloves and began the climb up the wall. Her upper arms quivered with the effort of hauling both herself and the effigy upward, boots crunching against the grit of the stone. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw another guard copying the maneuver that the bulkier, lumpy-faced guard had performed and swiftly making it to the top of the wall.

The climb wasn't quick for Audrey, but the sense of relief that washed over her shoulders as she kneeled over the edge of the wall and cradled the effigy close to her chest with one arm was terrific. Beads of sweat glinted on her red face, and she panted, glancing down at the servant man who was overseeing it all. They met eyes, and he gave her a small, brief nod of approval, and Audrey exhaled. Sliding down the wall, effigy on one shoulder and rope in the other, was much more comfortable than climbing up it. Audrey perched the dummy carefully against the base of the stone for the next guard, then took her time walking to the growing group of guards who had finished the trial.

It didn't take long for the rest of the guards to finish, and it took even surprisingly less time for the king to decide who got to move onto the next trial. From the forty that had begun, thirty-six were dismissed. Being the last person to be approached, Audrey straightened her back as much as she could as the king's eyes mulled over her for a moment. Her heart twisted under her armor, and she almost looked away, fearing that if she stared too long, he might figure out that she didn't belong here. Instead of speaking to her, the king turned and announced that the next trials were ready to proceed. Audrey's held breath shuddered out.

Walking after the older servant man and the king, Audrey noticed the tall man with the lumpy and bruised face from earlier striding along, a confident swagger to his hip. She apparently caught his eye when she stopped alongside him by the horses, because he turned and gave her a menacing toothy grin, spots of missing teeth showing the infected pink of his tongue. Audrey returned a small and friendly smile, only to be met with the force of the man's stone-like elbow striking her in the side of the head. She stumbled away a few steps, shocked but not necessarily surprised at the bastard's behavior, and readjusted her helmet.

"F…F-For the second trial, you w-will be tested on how w-well you can perform a running mount," the Asian man informed the small group. He turned his head to look at the horse closest to him—a tall and beautiful chestnut horse with a finely groomed mane—and gave the creature a soft stroke and pat on its neck before removing himself to the sidelines of the trial to watch.

The first guard to perform was cringeworthy in Audrey's opinion. The shorter man got the horse running, then failed to keep hold of the creature and ended up in the dirt, curled up in the fetal position with hopes that the horse wouldn't tromp him. Audrey found it abstractly horrifying, but the bulky man close to her apparently found it mildly amusing, chuckling deeply to himself. The second guard didn't have as much trouble but still failed to mount the horse. Instead, he lost his hold on the horse and stood there defeatedly while the thing took off, running free into the pastures of the kingdom.

Audrey was ready to go next, having met the eyes of the servant for permission before taking a step forward, but the other guard elbowed her again—this time in the stomach—and shoved her out of the way as he strode towards a gray-muzzled horse. Only pausing for a nod from the king to go, the guard got the horse running. Initially, he kept an arm around the horse's torso, then slid his hand up suddenly and gripped a fistful of the horse's mane. The horse propelled itself faster with the motion, but the lumpy-faced man hoisted himself atop the horse with one smooth movement, using the fistful of pony hair in his hand to keep a firm grasp on the animal. Audrey's stomach turned at the notion of hurting such a noble creature, but the other two failed guards clapped wildly for the man, hollering encouragements at him while he took the pony for a few prideful circles.

Once the man returned, Audrey was next. He sneered at her as they passed, knocking his shoulder into hers roughly and causing her to stagger forward a few steps. Her cheeks grew red with embarrassment, especially since the king was watching her so avidly now, but she continued to the last horse. Audrey took a moment to pause next to the horse, stroking its cheek to keep from spooking it and trailed her leather glove down its neck towards its torso. It was a beautiful creature—its fur was a mottled white and brown, sort of like a cow. The horse huffed as Audrey admired its muscles that rippled beneath the skin of its legs, tail flicking back and forth.

When Audrey put an arm over the horse's torso (as best as she could with her short stature), she looked up and watched the horse's ear's flick backward a few times. She gave the horse a few reassuring pets on its shoulder, then with a few encouraging words to the horse, started forward. The creature began alongside her, both picking up speed and the horse's hoofbeats falling almost perfectly in-sync with Audrey's footsteps. When they reached as fast as Audrey could run, Audrey took one hop, then another, and propelled herself upward. She swung a leg over the horse's back and settled onto it, leaning down and keeping a hand on either side of the horse's neck.

"Good horse, good horse!" Audrey murmured into its ear, taking a moment to kiss its neck thankfully. Then, sitting somewhat straighter, Audrey used the heels of her boots and her hands on the horse's neck to steer it back to where they had started.  
Audrey dismounted the horse, giving it a few rewarding pets, but couldn't stop noticing the way that the lumpy-faced guard glared at her. He had his arms crossed over his chest, which was puffed out in a sort of egotistical way, his head thrown to the side like he wasn't impressed with her. Audrey averted her gaze and pretended like she hadn't seen the man.

No congratulations were in order. The king promptly dismissed the two failed guards, saying nothing further to the two that had succeeded. As the king and his servant led the last two guards towards the third trial, Audrey noticed the king's daughters under their canopy. They seemed to be watching now—even the youngest daughter had laid her book in her lap, folding her rounder and pudgier hands over it, and trained her eyes on Audrey and the other man. The oldest princess sharp eyes stared openly at the two, chin tipped up as she kept a curious eye on them and rubbed her fingers inside the empty dagger's sheath on her belt.

Audrey and the lumpy-faced man were stood across from each other with one effigy stood up behind each of them. From the pot of swords, the two drew one each. Audrey took a moment to trace a finger over the blade of the sword. The edges of the rapier were actually sharp, as opposed to a training sword that would typically be used for events such as this. The only thing that would prevent her from being skewed was the rounded, rubbery tip at the end of the sword. The two guards faced each other, the other guard donning his helmet over his wily black hair where he hadn't been wearing it before.

"F…F-For this trial, you w-will b-be protecting your effigy," the servant addressed the two.

Audrey only spared the servant a glance before looking back at the man in front of her.

"And… b-begin."

The two guards must have had different definitions of "protect." The lumpy-faced man, his wicked smile stretched underneath his helmet, barreled towards Audrey at full-force. Audrey hunkered down, spreading herself out in a lower stance and took the oncoming bull-rush headfirst. She rammed herself into the man's stomach, abusing the man's higher center of gravity and forcing all her strength into keeping the man away from her effigy.

The man stumbled back two steps. He locked eyes with Audrey's, and his brows furrowed downward as a low growl reverberated from his chest. Audrey brandished her rapier, her free hand held out to the side steadily. They both panted from the brief grapple. Then, another smile crossed the man's face, and he rushed her again.

Audrey buckled down to push back again, but the man caught her by surprise with a quick twist and thrust of his elbow into her ribs. She fell away into the dirt but quickly sprung back up before the man could reach the effigy. Audrey rammed herself into him, using her shoulder and elbows to shove the man away from the stuffed mannequin. The man grunted, then whipped around and grabbed Audrey by her upper arm. He hoisted and tossed her like a ragdoll away from him, sending her crashing into the grass and dirt. Only wasting a few seconds on the ground, Audrey scurried back up. She watched the man slowly saunter towards the effigy, lazily dragging the tip of the sword through the grass.

With a burst of energy, Audrey launched herself onto the man's back and wrapped her arms around his neck in a chokehold. She leaned back with all her weight, dragging the man backward as he snarled and slapped at her, stumbling over his own two feet. Audrey was careful not to restrict the man's breathing but kept her arms wrapped around his thick bullish neck enough to be bothersome. Finally catching a piece of Audrey's armor, the guard threw her over his head and slammed her into the ground again. Audrey wheezed, her breath knocked out of her. Her head smacked the ground, sending patches of black through her vision.

As soon as Audrey started getting up, the man swung his fist into the side of her head, gritting what was left of his teeth and scrunching up his already puffy face. His hand caught the bottom of her helmet, and it was sent flying off to the side, revealing Audrey's mussed ginger hair. Audrey shot up, forearms held up to protect her head and barreled into the man's torso once more to shove him backward. The man grabbed Audrey by her hips and hefted her up once more and threw her to the side. Audrey landed on her knees and darted towards the man, catching his sword in her hand as he swung it toward the effigy. The man growled lowly at her and forced the rapier deeper into her hand. The muscles in Audrey's arm trembled, and she brought her other hand to hold and keep the weapon from the effigy. It slowly sliced through the thin leather of her gloves and into her hands, but the sharp sting didn't deter her. She furrowed her brow and steeled herself, pushing back on the sword with her bleeding hands.

  
A smile flashed on the other guard's face, and he swiped the sword to the side, out of Audrey's hands. She screwed her face and grunted as the entire length of the rapier slid through her hands, flicking blood off to the side into the grass when its momentum ceased. Audrey balled her fists, staunching the blood, and lunged at the man with her bony elbows. The man backed off a few steps with his malicious grin, flicking the rapier a few times at his side. Audrey held off for a few moments, waiting out their stalemate. Before she could dart out of the way, the man darted forward with surprising speed and slammed the hilt of the sword into the center of Audrey's face. Pain and a crunch jolted through Audrey's skull, and she fell backward onto the ground, hands immediately going to her nose. Warm, salty blood drained over her lips. With every exhale through her mouth, blood spattered the front of her armor and the grass beneath her.

Lowering her hands and determined to keep fighting, Audrey looked up at the man as she began to shift. The man swiftly plucked the rubber tip from the end of the rapier. He stopped to inspect it for a second, then flicked it to the side. His boot slammed into Audrey's chest and pushed her to the ground. Air wheezed from Audrey as the man forced his body weight into her chest, dragging the rapier through the grass and positioning the tip at Audrey's jugular. She moved her head slightly to the side, eyeing the man as he smirked at her. Pain pricked the skin on Audrey's throat, and she felt beads of warm blood drip down the sides of her neck into the grass below her. The man drew back his arm for a moment, the tip of the rapier clearly visible above her throat. His gap-toothed smile widened before he thrust the sword down toward Audrey. She flinched and squeezed her eyes shut, fists clenching the grass as she took her last gasp of air—

"Stop!" came a baritone command.

Audrey's muscles stayed tensed for a good few seconds after she was sure she was supposed to be dead. The impalement of the rapier through her throat never came, and, slowly, she opened her eyes. She wheezed a breath out, feeling the relief of the man's boot lifting from her chest. Audrey glanced from the man above her to the king, who stood yards away from her and the guard. Noticeably, his older daughter hovered near his shoulder, exceeding his height by a few inches, while his youngest stared with wide eyes from the canopy. The king stood straight; his eyes just barely visible beneath his scruffy eyebrow.

"Humph," came the other guard's response. He turned from the king and took a few seconds to massacre Audrey's effigy, sending the razor-sharp and bloody rapier through sack and hay straw.

Although she lay on the ground, Audrey's shoulders slumped even lower in failure as she stared upside down at her massacred effigy. Defeat weighed more on her chest than the man had. She had failed. Audrey groaned quietly and shut her eyes, head falling back wholly into the grass.

"W…W-Well…" The servant's voice was even shakier than usual. Every time he spoke, it sounded like it was an effort to even get sound out. "Congratulations t-to one of you. You b-both may now approach the king for his final decision."

Sitting up proved to be the most challenging task out of everything Audrey had done today, but nonetheless, she prevailed. Her muscles quivered, demanding the luxury of staying still, but she didn't comply. Audrey stood up, balling her hands to keep her cuts from bleeding and pressed the back of her hand into her nose. It was beyond sore, and she couldn't breathe through the blood that waterfalled down her chin, but luckily, it felt intact and unbroken. She could feel her cheek swelling and puffing up with a nasty bruise and, for a moment, could only think about how she wasn't looking forward to seeing herself in a mirror.

Audrey limped to the king, stopping a short distance away from him and keeping a few feet between her and the other guard. Pain and desolation thudded against her chest every time she looked at the king, so Audrey averted her eyes and stared at the yellowing grass below the king's shoes.

"Today, one of you has shown remarkable bravery, resilience, strength, and commendable servitude." The king's baritone voice paused. "The other has proven to be a disgrace, unworthy and unfit to continue service under the castle guard."

Audrey hung her head. Squeezing her eyes shut as hard as she could was all she could do to keep tears from welling up and falling down her cheeks, free to intermingle with the blood that stained her skin. Audrey bit her lip and only kept a small portion of the corner of her lips agape, enough to breathe through but not enough to audibly cry. Being kicked out of the castle guard would be the worst thing to happen to her—she'd joined to remain close to her twin sister and keep an eye on the girl. Becoming a royal knight would have been a way to see her sister more often. But being sent back home? Audrey would most likely never see her sister again. She would be disgraced by her parents and miserably married off to some man in the village she barely knew.

  
The force of a large, heavy hand falling onto Audrey's shoulder was enough to jolt her head upward and open her eyes. She stared at the king, who stood directly in front of her, his hand on her shoulder. A dry smile formed under his whiskers and the skin next to the man's dark brown eyes crinkled as he patted her shoulder a few times.

"Glad to have you, son."

Audrey's mouth opened but formed no words. Only a small stutter came out before trailing off in a squeak. She could only stare at the king as he turned from her and walked to the other guard, a man about as tall as the king was wide.  
"As for you, John Williams." The king's tone turned sour. "You are the most disgraceful guard I have ever seen. You are careless, brutish, and have no honor. You will find no employment nor shelter at this castle or in this kingdom ever again—you are to leave at once."

Audrey wanted to savor the way that the man's confidently smug look melted into an aghast expression. If she could have smiled, she would have, but she was still caught up in the surprise of having been chosen. Audrey watched as the king promptly dismissed the sour-faced guard, who hunched his shoulders and grit his teeth at the king before turning to stomp his way back to wherever he'd come from. Audrey let her hand down from her nose for a second, trying to sniffle in some air as she watched the guard grow smaller in the distance, before turning her attention back to the king as he approached her.

"Audren Everett. That is your name, correct?" the king asked.

Unsure of how the king knew her but relieved he didn't know her real name, Audrey only nodded. Her expression must have been telling because a humorous smile spread across the king's face.

"It's a small kingdom. I make it my duty to know everyone's names here." The smile faded. "What I am about to offer you is in no way inconsequential. I want you to know that I have not hired a member of royal staff in many, many years."

"Yes, sir," Audrey nodded.

"You will become my oldest daughter's personal knight." The king glanced backward at his daughter and beckoned her. "Accepting means that, for my daughter Renata, you will be willing to fight, protect, and lay down your life for her. She will be your priority in any and every situation. You will swear your loyalty to my family and, most importantly, to her."

Audrey's eyes met Renata's. The king's daughter crossed her arms over her chest, tipping her head to the side as if trying to give an air of being unimpressed, but the small smirk that tugged the corners of her lips upward remained unhidden. For the first time, Audrey actually took a moment to study the woman. Her hair was short, the ends of it flipping up underneath her ears and tickling the corners of her jawline. Her eyes were a lighter brown than her father's, and her nose more pointed. Where her father was soft and round, Renata was more angular and sharper. Audrey also couldn't ignore how the princess looked her up and down, quirking an eyebrow higher than the other as the corner of her smirk grew wider.

Finally, returning her attention to the king, Audrey nodded. She kneeled upon one knee, curled hands in the grass at her sides, and looked up at the king. "I gladly accept your majesty."

The king seemingly beamed down at her. From a longsword's sheath hidden under his royal robes, the king drew a ceremonially decorated sword. Audrey lowered her head toward the ground.

"Do you hereby swear to always be brave, never avoid dangerous paths out of fear, speak only the truth, be loyal to your lord, be charitable and defend the poor and helpless, and to always defend a lady?"

"Yes, my lord."

"Then I, King Ciro Valles, dub you, Audren Everett, as the royal knight and guard of my daughter, Princess Renata Valles."

The king slowly touched Audrey on each shoulder with the flat of his longsword. Despite the blood dripping down her mouth, Audrey couldn't stop the prideful smile that spread on her face as she stared at the grass. Once she heard the king sheathing his sword, she glanced upward at the king and his eldest daughter.

"Welcome to the family, son," the king warmly greeted.

**Author's Note:**

> just as a side note: audrey isn't a trans man, just so nobody thinks im misgendering her all this time; she identifies as a woman. she's stealthing as a man due to medieval misogynism so that she can be taken more seriously as a knight--or rather be able to become a knight whatsoever.


End file.
